EVERYONE LOVES TOP-UP FEES

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Everyone it seems wants more young people to go to university.
The Government has a target to get 50% of 18-30 year-olds into higher education by 2010 and the Tory leader David Cameron said today there should be no limit on student numbers.
If you listen to the Government, there is no reason on earth why anyone thinking about university would not want to go. It even makes financial sense to be a penniless student these days.
From this autumn, students won't pay any fees until after they finish studying. There will be much more generous grants and bursaries available, and after graduation they can expect higher salaries than workers who did not go to college.
So why did the higher education minister Bill Rammell tell PA at the weekend he expects fewer people to apply to university this year?
Because they will encounter the not-so-small matter of so-called "top-up fees", charged at a rate of £3,000 a year. See The Scotsman and Education Guardian.
You may think the Tories would want to seize on such an admission as a staggering betrayal of earlier promises and a contravention of the basic right to an education.
Think again. Even Mr Cameron's Conservatives now like fees. See BBC Education website.
Which leaves as the mighty torch-bearers in the campaign for truth, justice and fair play... er, the Lib Dems...